I’ve never participated in Floral Friday before, but now I have good reason: I’m buried in Ricinis Communis Gibsonii seeds, and need to give some away!
The plants pictured are exactly 11mos old, sown last May as a natural mole repellent. As you can see, they grew very tall, very FAST!
If you live between zones 5-8 and plant your seeds in early May, R.communis will reach 6-8′ tall by the end of growing season. You can direct sow it as an annual, or germinate it in a container to bring indoors when the temperature drops. Note: When planting, hold the seeds flat and push 1/2″ below the soil surface–anything deeper hinders germination. The first true leaves appear within 7-10days, and you’ll love watching them mature from deep maroon to burnished green; a few months later, quirky monoecious flowers lend texture and tropical appeal to any setting.
As the scarlet seed heads ripen, they turn dark and spiky, eventually exposing three shiny brown seeds. In the next photo you’ll notice one seed head already open and the rest not far behind.
The seeds are quite beautiful: each is uniquely patterened and approximately the size of a pinto bean:
At this point, I feel duty bound to print the disclaimer from the seed packet: Eating castor oil seeds may be fatal. This plant is not recommended if you have small children, especially if they naturally put things into their mouths.
If anyone wants a bunch of seeds, send your postal address along via this comment form. Within a few weeks you’ll have little plants that look like these:
Re-seeded from the plants in the header image!
Until next time…..
🙂 🙂 🙂
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16 thoughts on “Floral Friday: Who wants Castor Oil Plant Seeds?”
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small house/BIG GARDEN 
castor oil seeds…well blow me down…never thought about that one
I never heard of them either…until I started researching ways to get rid of moles!
Love the photos, such an interesting element in your garden.
thanks! Just when I thought they might be getting too leggy to be attractive, the worst offender started branching from several areas along the stalk…Not a bad plant! 🙂
Great photos of your castor oil plants.
Thanks, Susan!
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this plant before.
😉 keep it in the back of your mind should the need to poison someone arise! 😉
Hehe, you never know 😀
They give a really lovely structural element to a garden wish we could grow them here!
thanks Gilly!
You sell the Castor Oil plant well Karen. Those bright red seed pods are a lovely addition to the garden.
Hello friend!
They really ARE that crazy bright red, too! Sometimes the camera makes things look “off”, but not this time!
Beautiful photos of such an interesting plant. And so happy in this area.
I’ve had close to 100% germination, too. A few even poked up along my back fence, thanks to some bird, I imagine! The soil does seem to be a good match for these!
Certainly is a quirky looking thing. Gotta love its passionate red color. Happy Nesting